Erasmus Survival Challenge: Learn, Grow, Go!

Erasmus Survival Challenge: Learn, Grow, Go! is an interactive peer-to-peer mentoring activity in which former Erasmus+ participants will help students selected for the next mobility prepare for their European experience.

Through a series of games, practical challenges and conversations, students will develop and reflect on the skills for the future promoted during ErasmusDays 2026: communication, adaptability, autonomy, teamwork, problem-solving, intercultural awareness and responsible citizenship.

In “The Erasmus Suitcase”, teams will decide what they really need for a mobility while considering more sustainable choices such as reusable products, responsible packing and waste reduction.

In “What Would You Do?”, students will solve real-life situations involving host families, cultural differences, language barriers, homesickness and unexpected problems.

In “Erasmus Without Words”, they will practise communication using English, gestures and drawings, discovering that successful communication is much more than speaking a language perfectly.

Digital competence will be integrated through Mentimeter, which students will use to take part in an interactive “Myth or Reality?” challenge about Erasmus+, sustainability, privacy, consent when sharing photos, digital safety and the responsible use of social media and digital tools during an international mobility.

The activity will also include Speed Mentoring, where former Erasmus+ participants will share practical advice and answer questions from future participants about travelling, host families, communication, cultural adaptation, sustainability, digital tools and how to make the most of their Erasmus+ experience.

Throughout the session, each student will complete an Erasmus Skills Passport, identifying the competences practised during each challenge, such as communication, adaptability, inclusion, digital competence, sustainability and European citizenship.

To close the activity, future participants will write “A Letter to My Future Erasmus Self”, reflecting on what they hope to learn, what concerns them before travelling and which skills they would like to develop during their mobility. The letters will be kept and returned to the students after their Erasmus+ experience, allowing them to look back on their expectations, recognise their personal growth and reflect on the competences they have acquired.

By transferring the experience of former participants to a new generation of Erasmus+ students, the activity connects inclusion and diversity, digital transformation, environmental responsibility and European participation with the ErasmusDays 2026 theme of learning and growing through skills for the future.